Contents

History

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Along with his brothers, Michelangelo participated in the rescue of April O'Neil from a gang of criminals, and was delighted by their success in their first battle. Upon returning to the lair, he irritated Splinter by ordering a pizza during a lecture on the nature of ninjutsu, and dancing instead of meditating. His lighthearted approach also extended to his brothers; when Donatello brought up the subject of Splinter's mortality, Michelangelo ignored him.

He was delighted when the unconscious April O'Neil was brought to their lair by Raphael, eagerly asking if they could keep her. Along with his brothers, he escorted April back to her apartment, where he entertained her with his humorous impressions. However, upon returning to the lair, the Turtles discovered that Splinter had been abducted.

Demoralized, the Turtles went to stay with April, where Michelangelo regained some of his high spirits, teasing Raphael and playing a prank on Leonardo. When a badly-beaten Raphael was thrown through a skylight, Michelangelo fought off a large number of Foot ninjas with Leonardo and Donatello, even competing against a "fellow chucker."

Along with his brothers, Michelangelo fled to the countryside, attempting to cope with the humiliating defeat and the loss of Splinter. While Michelangelo's usual high spirits were not extinguished, he was seen attacking a punching bag in the barn, indicating that Splinter's loss had affected him. When their father contacted them psychically, Michelangelo openly wept.

The Turtles soon made their way back to New York, and on their first night back, they were attacked by the Foot Clan. The battle culminated in the Shredder appearing before them on a rooftop, and defeating each of the Turtles as they attacked him. Fortunately, Splinter reappeared and defeated Shredder, throwing him from the rooftop into a garbage truck.

Along with his brothers, Michelangelo warmly embraced their father, before celebrating their victory.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Along with Splinter and his brothers, Michelangelo was forced to move in with April O'Neil temporarily. However, he seemed to enjoy this arrangement, celebrating when she said that the Turtles could remain as long as they wanted.

As tensions rose between Raphael and Leonardo, Michelangelo unsuccessfully attempted to lighten the mood with jokes. He was also responsible for accidentally discovering their new lair, falling through the floor of a storm drain and into an abandoned subway station. Despite this discovery, Michelangelo was the least enthused about making it their home, due to the dust and cobwebs.

After they had moved in, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Donatello received word that Raphael had been captured by the Foot Clan, and set out to rescue him. They were briefly trapped by the Foot Clan and nearly killed, but escaped with the help of Splinter, and were pitted against the vicious mutants Tokka and Rahzar. During the battle that ensued, Michelangelo found a nearby manhole cover, allowing the four to escape with a captured Professor Jordan Perry.

He was also tasked with bringing Perry's anti-mutagenic compound to Tokka and Rahzar, which the Turtles had hidden inside doughnuts. However, the effect was too slow, allowing the new mutants to attack the Turtles. Michelangelo and Raphaelwere able to knock down Tokka and Rahzar long enough for Donatello to catalyze the anti-mutagen, reverting them back to a normal snapping turtle and wolf.

However, this battle led to hundreds of people seeing the Turtles, a situation that Michelangelo seemed thoroughly pleased by. Just as the Turtles thought they had defeated Shredder, they discovered that he had instead been exposed to the mutagenic ooze, which transformed him into a "super-Shredder." Along with his brothers, Michelangelo escaped into the ocean and was able to swim to shore, leaving the Shredder to be crushed under a falling boardwalk.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

Along with his brothers and Splinter, Michelangelo witnessed a magical scepter transport April through time and space to feudal Japan, leaving Kenshin in her place. When it became evident that they would have to travel back through time to find her, Michelangelo was pleased by the prospect, although he was unsure if pizza existed then. He also donned a pair of shorts so that the man who replaced him wouldn't be naked.

However, his arrival in the past was a difficult one, as he ended up backwards on a runaway horse before being knocked out by Mitsu, losing the scepter in the process. He woke in a food storehouse and soon escaped during the village's ransacking by Walker, almost being shot in the process. After Walker's escape, Michelangelo dashed into a burning building to rescue the child Yoshi, barely making it out alive himself.

In the following day, he attempted to ride a horse and educate the locals about pizza. He also developed an unrequited romantic attraction to Mitsu.

However, no sooner had the scepter been found than Mitsu and the scepter were taken by the mercenary Whit. Michelangelo accompanied his brothers into the daimyo's castle, where they took part in a massive battle between the daimyo's soldiers, Walker's men and the rebel villagers. When Walker distracted the Turtles by throwing the scepter away, Michelangelo barely managed to catch it.

Afterwards, he expressed unwillingness to go back to New York, preferring his life in feudal Japan and wishing to be with Mitsu. When the scepter activated, he only barely managed to reach it in time, exchanging places with a samurai several seconds after his brothers returned.

TMNT

In the 2007 TMNT film, Mikey has taken to performing at children's birthday parties as "Cowabunga Carl" in order to make ends meet to support his family. It becomes apparent early in the film that the physical and emotional absence of Leo has finally begun to affect the outgoing Michelangelo. Unlike his other incarnations, the 2007 Mikey seems to draw the most emotional support from Donatello instead of his other brothers, Leonardo and Raphael.

Upon Leonardo's return from Central America, Mikey gives his oldest brother an enthusiastic hug, falling over the couch and tripping over furniture in his excitement. Mikey's lively demeanor returns in full force when he is in the presence of his three brothers again, his goodnatured jokes and brief commentaries lightening even in hard situations. Clearly, despite the hardship that his family has recently experienced, Michelangelo has retained much of his usual goofy, laid-back personality and still remains the main form of comic relief. He is voiced by Mikey Kelley. Comparing all four brothers in the 2007 movie; it is shown that he has blue eyes where the other three have brown. According to the film's director, this was done to make Michelangelo seem a bit more innocent and younger than the other turtles. In all other film incarnations, Mikey has blue eyes. He is a fantastic skateboarder in this movie, able to complete many tricks underground.

Trivia

According to the T files on the DVD extras of the 1990 film, Michelangelo:

Favorite food is pizza.

Hobbies are skating, surfing, and video games.

Favorite books are "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg, "In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak, and "Tuesday" by David Wiesner.